


The Simple Word

by teamchaosprez



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: 1950s, Abuse, Affairs, Alternate Universe - 1950s, Alternate Universe - Human, Cold War, Cunnilingus, Domestic Violence, Drama & Romance, Explicit Sexual Content, Extramarital Affairs, F/F, Falling In Love, Hurt/Comfort, Lawyers, Light Dom/sub, Parenthood, Sexual Content, Trans Female Character, Vaginal Fingering, abusive jasper
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-08 09:52:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11644056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teamchaosprez/pseuds/teamchaosprez
Summary: 1956. Lapis Lazuli Brecciate, an abused housewife with limited options, goes to Peridot Greene, successful lawyer, for help following her wife abandoning her and their child. Things tend to get a little bit messy when you start seeing other people before the divorce has even gone through, though.





	1. A Private Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> i said i was done with steven universe fanfiction but i listened to say no to this a few times and got this idea and couldn't control myself ok... this depends on a cocktail of my motivation and how much feedback the chapters get.
> 
> smut in the first chapter but significantly less as time goes on. will add bios in opening notes as characters are introduced.
> 
> peridot - 22. caucasian (english). blonde hair, hazel eyes, freckles. raised by extremely lutheran parents. used to work for diamond law, but left to work at crystal law after an argument with her boss, yvette diamond. upper middle class.  
> lapis - 20. native hawaiian-caucasian (russian) mix. dark brown hair, blue eyes, freckles. didn't have a great childhood. dropped out of high school at 15 because she got pregnant with malachite and had to marry jasper. upper class lifestyle due to jasper's money, but now struggling.

It was mid July when Lapis Brecciate waltzed into Peridot Greene’s office.

She was the epitome of exhausted. She was bent over a stack of paperwork, circles underneath her eyes, an almost overwhelming amount of stress driving her mad. Peridot was neck deep in a case that wasn’t going to end well for anybody involved, and it was her job to try and make the outcome better for her client. Something that was becoming more and more impossible with every moment that passed. She couldn’t remember when the last time she slept was - two days ago? Four? A week? It didn’t matter. She was longing for the sweet relief of a nap.

The door opened slowly, and she almost didn’t notice until a young woman had walked up to her desk, hands on the edge and dark blue eyes avoiding contact with her own hazel. Peridot looked up, recognizing her as the wife of one of the more muscular and excessively well paid of her former boss Yvette Dimandis’ bodyguards. She used to see her at company Christmas parties, her appearances slowly petering out - the last time she saw her was the New Year before last, if she remembered correctly. The blonde lawyer couldn’t help but wonder why she was here; Jasper was pride and loyalty driven enough that she probably would never dare to allow her wife to step foot in a rival firm.

She was controlling. Often bragged about how submissive the thin woman got after just a little bit of shouting or a quick smack. Peridot thought it was fucked up, but she didn’t know enough about other people’s lives to judge, and it wasn’t exactly an uncommon thing despite how romanticized marriages could be. The only somewhat healthy one she really knew of was the marriage between one of her coworkers and a wrestler, as weird as that was, and she was probably going to throw up if she had one more picture of their daughter Opal shown to her.

“I need your help,” were the first words out of red lips, Lapis looking like she was loathe to admit it with a light dusting of pink across her cheeks. “My wife’s been treating me wrong. Beating me, hitting our daughter. Sleeping with people behind my back. Last night - no warning - she left. I woke up to a note on the counter telling me that she’s gone to be with somebody else, and she’s not coming back. I don’t have a job, I don’t have any qualifications, I never finished school. I don’t know what to do.”

She didn’t know the situation was that bad - but she wasn’t about to doubt it. She could see bruises on her neck peeking from the high collar of her dress, the hint of a nearly healed cut on her cheek. She looked exhausted as she was, but not necessarily in the same way as her; her tiredness seemed to be more emotional. Psychological. Like someone dragged through hell and back. Peridot didn’t know Lapis that well, but she already pitied her and wanted to do something to help.

“I can give you some money and help with the divorce proceedings so you get some of what Jasper earns to help you support yourself and your child.” She immediately rolled back in her chair to open a drawer and begin looking through the papers buried inside to find the forms she needed. “I could walk you home if you want, too. I could use a break from work anyway.” She slid the papers and a pen across the desk to the young woman, and watched blue painted nails take hold of them. Odd color.

“Thank you so much, Miss Greene,” Lapis murmured softly, and began filling out the forms in neat cursive handwriting - neater than Peridot would have expected from someone who apparently never finished school. That brought the question of  _ why,  _ though. She wasn’t going to ask for fear of being rude.

The lawyer began looking through her papers as Lapis filled out the forms she had been handed, feeling herself start to zone out once more. She was probably too tired to be working so hard, but there didn’t seem to be many other options right now.

She was ripped out of her trance by the feeling of a thin hand brushing up against one of hers. She blushed slightly and resisted the urge to pull her hand away, looking at the other woman with widened hazel eyes. “You look awfully tired, Ms. Greene,” she murmured softly, and gently rubbed one finger against the back of her hand. Peridot couldn’t help but blush a little deeper. “I really do appreciate how helpful you’re being to me. What do you say I repay you? I happen to know of a very good way to destress. I mean… only if you really want to.” When she actually looked up to meet her piercing blue gaze, she found that the young woman’s eyes were half lidded.

Oh, to the stars.

“I- I- uh, you’re very beautiful, Mrs. Brecciate--”

_ “Lazuli,” _ she corrected, almost in a snapped tone, but her expression didn’t change and her tone went back to low and soft within a few moments. “It’s Lazuli. You can just call me Lapis if you really want to, though, Ms. Greene.” She moved her hand in order to gently take hold of her wrist, her lower lip puckering into a pout. This… was very tempting to a lawyer that so rarely slept.

“Miss Lazuli, you’re beautiful, you really are. And I would love to- to  _ have relations _ with you. But I don’t think that we should - I mean, your divorce papers are barely dried if they’ve come in at all, and there aren’t any beds around here, I don’t know where we would even --” She was cut off when Lapis suddenly climbed onto her desk and settled to sit in front of her, gently cupping the side of her face in one slender hand. Peridot’s breath hitched, and her face was bright pink.

“My wife is gone, Ms. Greene, and we don’t need beds if you really want to do this. There are… more creative ways.” She rested her opposite arm on her shoulder, gently running her hand through messy blonde hair. “Only if you’d let me repay you, Ms. Greene.” She was pulling Peridot closer now, smiling, and oh stars she smelled like the ocean and the look in her eyes was so  _ enticing, _ and even though logic was telling her that she probably should say no her body and sleep deprived mind were saying  _ yes please. _

“P-Peridot,” she stammered out, and carefully rested her hands against Lapis’ sides, biting her lip. She was nervous, but her mind was made. She wanted this - maybe she even  _ needed _ this. She had never had sexual relations before, the idea that it was a bad idea outside of marriage stuck in her head from growing up in a religious family, but she was stressed and Lapis smelled so good and her voice and hands were gentle. In a way, maybe the other woman needed this, too - so she wasted very little time in pressing her lips against the younger woman’s, earning a surprised soft gasp against her mouth before Lapis returned the kiss with a level of eagerness that she hadn’t expected.

It took very little time for skilled fingers to get to work at unbuttoning Peridot’s dress shirt, and the lawyer had to question how she was so good at this. She fumbled to reciprocate and thanked her lucky stars that Lapis was wearing a dress that could easily just be pulled over her head - the young woman broke out of the kiss just to let her undress her. She began kissing down her neck, her collarbone, her covered breasts without much prompting, down her toned stomach, and then-- then she was at her hip, on her knees in front of the desk, and she had absolutely no clue where to go from there.

“I’m - I’m not very experienced, so just… tell me if I’m not doing this right, okay?” she asked quietly, and looked up to find Lapis looking down at her with half lidded eyes.

“You’ll be fine,” she purred, and ran her hand through the lawyer's hair. Peridot blushed deeply, but nodded, and obediently pulled her panties down, a little clueless but determined to do well.

She buried her face between Lapis’ legs, pressing light kisses up her thighs and against the wet slit where she knew her attention was needed the most. The woman let out a soft gasp, her grip on the back of Peridot’s hair tightening slightly at the contact, and the lawyer made sure to do what she needed in terms of foreplay. She gently pressed a kiss against Lapis’ sensitive clit, feeling some sex juices rubbing off against her chin but not particularly minding all that much. She didn’t really mean to tease, and all it took was a quiet curse and a plea from the other for her to get started.

She was gentle, because she wanted Lapis’ experience with her to be a good one. She licked patterns across her soaked folds, and gently dipped her tongue inside of her entrance, eliciting a rather lewd moan from the younger woman that was quickly muffled by what she assumed was her hand. She gently pulled her tongue out in order to flick against her clit, and began a pattern of that, pressing and probing ever so gently inside of her and flicking or sucking her swollen bundle of nerves, feeling an intense heat build in her own gut and stomach as well.

She couldn’t help her own hands wandering up her body. Peridot squeezed one of her own breasts with her hand and moved down to her now soaking pussy with the other, gently rubbing two of her fingers against her clit and letting out a soft moan against her partner’s cunt. She could hear Lapis let out a moan that she could hardly contain behind her hand, and looked up despite her eyes opening seeming impossible to find her with her eyes squeezed shut in ecstasy and the hand that wasn’t tangled up in messy blonde locks covering her mouth to keep her noises quieter.

That sight enough was enough to inspire her to work harder, both on Lapis and herself. She rubbed her fingers along her folds almost aggressively now, but made sure to remain delicate and gentle with her partner, her tongue movements deliberate even though her thoughts were starting to haze from the pressure in her gut and the pleasure that she was receiving. Her moans became more frequent, especially because she could tell that the vibrations were pleasurable for Lapis as well.

“Oh, Peridot…” the younger woman crooned softly, running a hand through her hair, her words hitching on every other syllable. “Oh, yes, more, I’m so close, I’m - ahn - I’m gonna cum -”

And that was all the warning that the blonde got before thighs suddenly closed around her head and she felt a gush of fluid against her mouth and chin. It appeared that Lapis Brecciate - no, Lazuli - was a squirter, and the lawyer would be oddly smug about this finding if she wasn’t completely focused on her own orgasm now, trying to milk her partner through hers while seeking her own pleasure.

She barely even notice when Lapis’ thighs relaxed until she was suddenly pushed onto the carpeted ground, and she was so shocked that her hand moved away from her desperate cunt - and she was surprised by a sudden, aggressive kiss pressed against her mouth. It appeared that the other woman had been just as desperate as she. The kiss lasted a little while, and Peridot couldn’t help but whimper softly against Lapis’ lips, longing for friction between her legs - and it didn’t seem to take very long for her to get it, because the younger woman quickly pushed two fingers into her heated and waiting pussy.

Peridot’s initial cries were drowned out by the kiss that they were sharing, and she was worked up enough that it didn’t take her very long at all to come for the first time with an arching back and whimpers of Lapis’ name. She expected the younger woman to remove her fingers, but she didn’t, instead burying her head into the lawyer’s neck and murmuring soft words of encouragement as she absolutely wrecked the blonde’s lower half with her fingers. “You’re doing amazing, Peridot, you’re doing so wonderful,” she cooed softly, and the lawyer could only whine through it, hips twitching.

It was safe to say that she had never felt this delightfully overwhelmed in her life.

The younger woman was a lot rougher than she had expected, but she couldn’t say that she wasn’t loving it. Loving every moment of Lapis’ fingers pounding into her, scissoring her open, curling to hit the rough patch of nerves on her upper wall. The other’s free hand moved down to press the skin around her clit in a ‘v,’ and Peridot was gasping and stuttering out broken pleas and Lapis’ name. The dark haired beauty was the only thing on her mind now, and achieving another climax was all she wanted. Shaky hands made their way to her partner’s back, and she had very little control over the lusty scratches that began ravaging her back. She barely noticed soft hisses of pain from the younger, or blood catching on her fingernails.

She came a second time with a broken scream, and thanked her lucky stars that she was often the only one left in the office at this hour. Lapis slowed down then to help her through it, and her scratching stopped in favor of hugging close to the younger woman, whimpering and whining as pulses of pleasure ran up her spine and throughout her body. Peridot Greene, successful lawyer, had never cum this hard in her life.

When she finally calmed down, Lapis removed her fingers from her cunt, and pressed a gentle, chaste kiss against her lips. Peridot was about ready to fall asleep right there on the floor, but she slowly blinked open her eyes to look at the younger woman - and, finally getting a good look at her, saw all the bruises all along her sides, back, buttocks, as she got dressed. She swallowed thickly, knowing those must have been from the aforementioned beatings, and felt guilty about the scratch marks now down her back.

Lapis didn’t seem all that bothered, though, and looked back at her with a happy smile, so Peridot’s guilt and worry didn’t last long, and she lazily smiled back. The younger woman offered a hand to help her get up, and she took it, but winced and fell against the younger woman when she realized that everything below her waist was sore as all get out. She didn’t know how she was going to make it to her car, let alone all the way home, in this condition.

“You know, I have a rather comfortable bed at home, Ms. Greene - I mean, Peridot. If you’d like to come catch some rest, I wouldn’t be opposed to having you for some more company.” How was Lapis so poised right now?

Sleep… sounded so delightful right now, though, and she did desperately want to be around this young woman more. Get to know her better. So as she reached for her clothes, she gave an enthusiastic nod to the younger woman.

“I think I would like that a lot, Miss Lazuli.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning (and early afternoon) after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> malachite - 4, a few months from turning 5. african-american/latinx (mexican)/native hawaiian/caucasian (russian) mix. intelligent for her age, and fairly well behaved... for now.

Lapis awoke to sunlight streaming into her bedroom and splaying across her large bed at 8 o’clock in the morning sharp. Even without an alarm clock set, and even on a Saturday when her daughter didn’t need to go to kindergarten, her body decided that she needed to get up and moving, so that was exactly what she did, rolling over and planting her feet on the carpeted floor before rising to her feet. She winced a little at the stinging from the scratches on her back - and that was what got her to remember the events that had transpired during the night before.

She glanced back, and spotted the blonde lawyer still fast asleep, spooning a pillow with her mouth open slightly and her locks even messier than they typically were. She looked more youthful in sleep than she did awake, the dark circles underneath her eyes faded and her expression relaxed. Lapis made the decision not to wake her up almost immediately, and instead chose to make her way to the bathroom and make sure that she was showered and clean so that she could carry out her daily routine. At that point, she also remembered earlier events of the previous day.

She remembered that she wasn’t going to be dreading five o’clock in the afternoon, looking around the large house to make sure that absolutely nothing that Jasper would notice and blow up at her or Malachite about. She remembered that she didn’t have to worry about being beaten senseless because dinner didn’t quite match her wife’s mood for the evening; that she didn’t have to make sure that their daughter was playing quietly somewhere out of sight so that she wouldn’t be trapped in the crosshairs of her parents’ arguments and get hurt in the process.

Although she was worried about being able to provide for her child without any way to make money quite yet and she was… almost sad about her marriage’s end, she couldn’t claim that she wasn’t relieved. And she was determined to never let anyone harm a hair on Malachite’s head or strike her again.

With a renewed sense of energy, she all but skipped into the master bathroom, more ready for the day than she had been in five years.

* * *

 

Malachite was already awake and playing in the living room with a few dolls, and looked up with happy, sparkling eyes when Lapis entered the room. The four year old grinned brightly, and abandoned her dolls in favor of running to her mother and hugging her legs.

She swore that some days, the only reason to wake up in the morning was the happy greeting that her daughter gave her every morning.

“Morning, momma!” she chirped happily, and separated herself from her mother’s legs to return to her dolls, but she kept her focus on her mother despite having a baby doll in one hand and a stuffed bear in the other. “What’s for breakfas’ today? I’m hungry.” She glanced away from Lapis then, turning back to the dolls in whatever adventure they were having.

Oh. She wasn’t used to not having instructions, and not having meals being one of the factors of how well that she would be able to move for the rest of the day. Today… she could cook  _ whatever she wanted, _ and that was surprisingly empowering to a woman that had been kept underneath an iron grip for the last five years. “You know what? I think I’m going to make some eggs for breakfast,” she responded, almost finding it a little silly how ridiculously confident just saying that made her.

“But Ma hates eggs,” Malachite’s green eyes were wide, almost scared, and Lapis couldn’t help but scoop her baby up in her arms and hold her close to her chest. She was only four, and already she feared Jasper’s wrath. Feared it so much that she couldn’t make any friends for fear of her not approving. Feared it so much that Lapis was the only mother that she could truly trust - and Lapis found that saddening and appalling. Her own father was an abusive sack of shit, but she still had fond memories of when she was a small child and he was kinder. 

“I know she does, but can I tell you a little secret?” Malachite nodded enthusiastically, and Lapis leaned forward to bury her face in pale curls and whisper her response. “Ma’s not going to be home  _ all day. _ We can eat whatever we want, and she won’t yell at us or hit us.” She neglected to mention that Jasper would never be home; she wanted to give it a few days to sit before she had to break the news to her daughter. Not that she thought Mala wouldn’t take it well, she just… didn’t want her to go around telling the neighbor children. That would ruin her reputation if that information leaked to the parents of their high end neighborhood. Make it hard to make a living.

For her part, though, she child seemed delighted by this news, and threw the toys in her hands up in the air. “Yay! Eggs!” she crowed happily, and Lapis couldn’t tell if Malachite was happy about the food, the news that Jasper wouldn’t be home that day, or the fact that she was doing something to rebel against her scarier parent. Either way, the young mother let out a soft laugh, and pressed a light maternal kiss against her forehead.

She set the child down and watched her rush off, the toys on the floor forgotten in favor of whatever had crossed her little preschooler mind. It crossed Lapis’ mind for just a moment that she was getting so big almost too quickly - she was going to be turning five in just a few months, and that thought alone was enough to make her feel a little sad. She hadn’t even been sixteen yet when her daughter was born - their birthdays were only a few days apart. It was like watching her youth vanish.

She shook her head, however, and turned her attention back to the kitchen. She didn’t have time to dwell on that. She mostly just wanted to stop delaying her morning routine. So Lapis pushed any thoughts of regret about her wasted youth out of her head and made her way over to the coffee machine, getting a pot brewing as she turned on the stove and got a dozen eggs out of the refrigerator. Malachite was right - Jasper hated eggs, as she remembered from a violent outburst a year or two before.

That made the choice to make a breakfast she wanted so much more freeing.

* * *

 

By noon, Lapis had all but forgotten the young woman sleeping soundly in the master bedroom, and was instead playing dolls with Malachite on the floor of the living room. The child got into her games with an almost scary intensity, a concentrated and serious look taking over her chubby features as she considered what sort of drama Ms. Dolly and Mr. Bear would get themselves into today. Her mother was content to go along, more amused by her daughter’s play voices and enthusiasm than anything else.

So when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs, she was at first startled, tensing up and looking to the top of the stairs to find Peridot, rubbing her eyes sleepily and making her way down. Lapis relaxed almost immediately, remembering the kindness that the lawyer had treated her with the night before, among… other, more pleasurable things. She had already taken quite a liking to the blonde despite not knowing her all that well, so she wasn’t even the slightest bit perturbed that she was in her house. “Good afternoon, sleeping beauty,” she commented in a teasing tone, watching the other woman start slightly and open her green eyes quickly.

“Oh, is it that late?” Peridot groaned, looking over to the clock hanging in the living room and letting out a heavy sigh. “Well, I can’t go to the office  _ now. _ If there’s a god, he keeps ruining my plans to work overtime. Maybe he’s trying to tell me something.” She shrugged, and then seemed to notice Malachite, one eyebrow raising as if she was startled to find a child in the house. She couldn’t be, considering she had mentioned having a child a few times, but she seemed confused anyway. Maybe she just didn’t have any experience with kids.

“You can stick around for as long as you want. I  _ had _ saved eggs and coffee for you… but eggs are no good cold. You can still have the coffee if you want.” She nodded back in the direction of the kitchen, and then gestured to Malachite, who was still rather focused on Mr. Teddy and Ms. Dolly. She wondered if her child had even noticed that somebody new was in the house. “This is my daughter, Malachite. She’s… very intense about her dolls, if you haven’t noticed.”

“Ah,” Peridot nodded, and as she made her way down to the bottom of the stairs, and leaned down next to Malachite. The child seemed to finally notice that somebody new was in the room, and she looked up at the blonde with bright, curious eyes. “Hello, Malachite. My name is Peridot. I’m friends with your mom.” She held out her hand for a shake, and Lapis was almost a little amused by how professional she was being about meeting a four year old. Malachite glanced at her hand quickly, and then looked up to her face - and then placed her own little hand into her bigger one, allowing Peridot to give her chubby hand a little shake.

A few more pleasantries were exchanged, and then Peridot went off to go to the kitchen and take advantage of the cold coffee. Lapis waited a moment, then gently ruffled Malachite’s wild white hair before getting up and following behind her. Her daughter was pretty self sufficient, having learned to just play peacefully and quietly with her toys - much better behaved than the typical four year old girl, but almost a little bit sad for  _ why _ she needed to know that. 

The blonde was pouring herself a cup of coffee, and Lapis pulled a chair out to sit on it, giving her a small smile. “So, last night was fun,” she commented simply, watching Peridot jump ever so slightly as if she hadn’t noticed her walk in. The younger of the two wouldn’t really be surprised if that was the case. Before everything went to shit, Jasper used to joke about her being a spy because of how quietly she moved around. That memory was enough to make her a little sad - but she shoved the memory away, wanting to focus on  _ herself and Malachite _ now. No more toxic, abusive people in her life.

“Yeah, it was,” Peridot agreed softly, walking with her cup of coffee to sit down in the chair next to her, glancing at her quickly before blushing and looking away. She took a sip from the mug, seemingly flustered, which was almost  _ adorable _ in Lapis’ eyes. “I - uh - actually wouldn’t be opposed to doing it again sometimes. Maybe even often. If you’re okay with that, anyway. You’re nice to be around, and…” she trailed off, apparently looking for words. “... and you’re very talented in. Um. Things.”

Lapis laughed slightly, giving the other woman a soft smile before reaching over to gently rest her hand against Peridot’s arm. “I think I would enjoy that,” she nodded, feeling light in her chest like she could take off and fly.

It had been a long, long time since she’d had a good morning. It had been a long time since she was interested in somebody that treated her  _ kindly _ instead of like an object to be used. It had been a long time since she felt this nice. So it took her very little time to add on with a question.

“Would you be willing to meet me back here tomorrow?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow i got this out quick huh


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot walks into the office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote this with a mild migraine and while emotionally unstable so forgive me if it isn't as good as it could be
> 
> Pearl Suzuki-Brecciate - 33 years old, east asian (japanese). trans woman. is a first generation american and one of the suzuki triplets, with two sisters, limone and belle. married to amethyst brecciate, jasper's younger sister. has two daughters, rainbow quartz - with rose quartz - and opal suzuki-brecciate.  
> Limone Suzuki - 33 years old, east asian (japanese). one of the suzuki triplets. secretary of diamond law.

Even though the day before had  _ technically _ been her day off, Peridot still felt guilty about not stopping by the office mainly because she was sleeping at the home of a woman she barely knew until noon. So she arrived at the building of Crystal Law two hours early, pushing open the double doors and gritting her teeth ever so slightly when she looked to the desk and saw Pearl seated there with an expression that already let her know she was about to get teased a little bit for ‘slacking off’ after two weeks of spending twenty hours a day behind her desk researching the case she was working on.

“I barely recognize you without the dark circles under your eyes, Peridot,” the older woman spoke up, a small smirk on her face that the blonde detested. She scowled, and went to move back to her office, but decided against it for a moment in favor of checking with the secretary to make sure that the details of the case were still the same. To make sure that Bismuth Mautte had not come forward and told anybody at the office that there was something she was leaving out that might prove her innocent.

Dealing with the case of a former army weapons expert accused of selling their research to the Russians was hardly an easy matter, with the way the United States handled anything even mildly communist these days. Peridot took her job very seriously - not for a love of her country or for fondness of her client, but for a sense of pride and knowledge that if her first high profile case with Crystal Law was  _ failed, _ she could be seen as just as much a traitor as Ms. Mautte was - or she could even become a laughingstock amongst her coworkers.

She doubted the latter, but it was a possibility.

“Is there any news from Bismuth or the military?” she asked, trying to sound casual about it but knowing that she was borderline obsessed with this case enough that Pearl would not be fooled. A heavy sigh from the thin woman told her that she was correct. “Pearl, you know how huge this case is as much as I do. I’ve explained to you time and time again that taking a day off could be detrimental to the final results. If there’s anything new, I - the  _ lawyer _ \- am entitled to it.”

“No, Peridot, there isn’t any new information,” the former dancer sounded impatient and tired, a far cry from the joking tone that she had adopted earlier. “If there was, you know I or Amethyst would have called to let you know as soon as we got word. You  _ desperately _ needed the day off regardless, anyway. You’ve been spending twenty hours a day in this office for the last two weeks. You’re going to drop dead if you keep depriving yourself of sleep like this, and we can’t exactly afford to continue paying you overtime.” She put down the papers she had been shuffling through, and massaged her temples. “Steven is seriously considering forcing you to take a week or so off if this keeps up.”

The lawyer bristled slightly, furrowing her eyebrows slightly as she leaned on Pearl’s desk. “I’ve told you that I’m willing to work unpayed. I don’t care as much about money as I care about doing my job right and making sure that this case ends somewhat well for everyone.” She sighed heavily, and ran a hand through her blonde hair. Peridot was a little frustrated that somebody she  _ worked for _ was trying to make her job even harder. “I’m not taking time off. I don’t care what Steven says.”

“There’s doing your job right, and then there’s letting something take over your entire life. I know what it’s like to be so obsessed with something that you can’t do anything else.” The look on Pearl’s face was sad for a moment, and Peridot was genuinely afraid that she was going to get the thin woman’s entire life story. Luckily, though, she shook her head slightly and rose to her feet. “You need to start thinking about other aspects of your life, and stop letting work take it all over. You have friends, and you need sleep. I care about this case too, but I care about you more.”

“It’s not your job to care about me, you’re supposed to be focused on making sure our clients win every case,” Peridot couldn’t help but snap, frustration beginning to build and boil over. She took a deep breath to calm herself down, though, and kept her eyes on the secretary. “I’m not going to take any time off. But if it would make you feel better, I can stop coming in really early and staying really late. You’re probably right about me needing a break.”

“Of course I’m right,” Pearl puffed her chest out, looking a little smug about Peridot acknowledging that she was being logical, and the lawyer couldn’t help but scowl a little. “Seriously, though, as I was leaving the other night Jasper Brecciate’s wife came into the office and asked me which office was yours. What did she want?” Her voice was serious, as if she was trying to trick Peridot into thinking that she was interested for business reasons, but she knew full well that Pearl absolutely despised Jasper and more than likely just wanted to know for the drama of it all.

“Isn’t there some kind of client confidentiality that should keep me from telling you anything?” Peridot asked, eyebrows furrowed as she pouted a little, but she sighed heavily and decided to respond. Pearl had once worked for Diamond Law as well - she left shortly before Peridot was hired into the company to work with Rose Quartz at the new firm across the street - and they had initially bonded over how terrible the burly guards that the Dimandis sisters kept around for whatever reason were… and Jasper in particular, who was more than a little over the top. “Well, apparently Brecciate left her early yesterday morning, and she needed help figuring out what to do to support her and her daughter.”

“Really? Jasper was the one that left first?” Pearl rested her chin on the backs of her hands, raising a dark eyebrow at Peridot and tucking dyed strawberry blonde hair behind one ear. “I always figured that Lapis would be the one to leave, with how terribly that Jasper apparently treats her. I probably shouldn’t have expected that, though. They got married when she was so young, I don’t think she really knows how to be an adult in any other way.”

“Yeah, apparently they got married when Lapis was only fifteen. That makes Jasper, what… ten years older than her?” Peridot shook her head slightly, and sighed before she pushed back off of the desk. “The reason I wasn’t back in the office yesterday was because I was spending time with her. I don’t have a lot of time to spend on other cases, but once I’m done figuring out how to win Bismuth’s case I’m going to try and help her get through the divorce.” She stopped for a moment, and thought, before an idea so brilliant she wasn’t sure why she’d considered it before ran through her head. “Actually, is there a job that I could give her? She didn’t graduate high school, but she seems pretty smart, and she’s very…” she blushed slightly, “... friendly.”

The secretary gave her a look like she knew the sins that Peridot was trying to keep hidden, but she pulled a paper out of one of her desk drawers - probably the payroll. “Well, you can hire her as your personal assistant if you want. We can add her onto our employment list. It probably isn’t going to pay an awful lot, but should be  _ just _ enough to support two people.”

The lawyer nodded. “Okay, I think I’ll go ahead and do that. I’ll talk to her the next time I see her.” Peridot then pushed herself off of Pearl’s desk so that she was standing up, and gave the secretary the smallest smile she could possibly muster. “I guess I’m gonna go back to work now. See if actually being rested helps me any. If I’m still in the building after five, feel free to drag me out by the ear. I know you’ve been dying to do that since this stupid case started.”

“You’re almost making me hope that you’ll stay overtime on accident,” Pearl teased lightly, the smile on her face much warmer. “Try not to do anything stupid after work. I know that you’re not used to freedom and that having too much can be a little bit overwhelming, but nobody needs you to revert back to being a teenager.”

“Probably better than the rules obsessed little asshole I was when I first started working here,” the lawyer spoke with a shrug, and then waved halfheartedly to Pearl before stepping back into the thin hallway that led to the offices of various lawyers.

She sighed heavily as she pushed open the door to her office, running a hand against her face. She leaned against the door to close it behind her, and then walked to her desk, pushing the chair out and sinking into it. Peridot opened a drawer, and pulled out the manila folder with all of the case files, dropping it onto her desk and letting paper scatter across her desk. She groaned as she looked over all the data there, slamming her head against the wood of the surface. It was even more overwhelming after she took a break from it for a while - she didn’t know how she was supposed to even begin.

Peridot pulled out a pen, and began underlining any information that she thought might be useful, scrawling little notes in her careful handwriting within the margins. She could already feel the beginnings of a migraine developing in her head, and let out a heavy sigh as she decided to just try to work through it.  That didn’t stop her from questioning every decision of her entire life up to this point, though. She was ready to move back in time to the late 1940’s and kick her teenage self’s ass for deciding to pursue law school and become a lawyer.

The sudden harsh ringing of the phone on her desk was enough to break her out of her concentration, and she quickly picked it up, wanting to answer purely just to make the ringing stop and not make her headache worse. She brought the receiver to her ear, resting it on her shoulder as she continued her work and spoke in an almost robotic tone. “Crystal Law, this is Peridot Greene speaking. I’m busy at the moment but I can ask for Pearl to switch you over to another lawyer.”

“Oh, no, you’re exactly who I wanted to speak to,” a flat yet smug tone on the other end responded, and she tensed ever so slightly as she recognized the voice as the Diamond Law secretary and one of Pearl’s two sisters, Limone Suzuki. “I just thought I would warn you, Ms. Greene. I know that Lapis Brecciate has been meeting with you, and it’s not that I care, but… Jasper doesn’t often stick with a decision long. She’s thought about leaving her several times but could never bring herself to do it. She’s too attached to her wife to stay away from her too long, even if their relationship is awful.”

The lawyer blinked, not exactly sure how she was supposed to reply to that, and hesitated before clearing her voice and deciding to talk. “Well, thank you, but I have it under control. I can make their divorce final and make it so that Jasper can’t go near her. If she ever makes the decision to bother Lapis or Malachite again, she’s going to regret it.”

There was silence on the other end for a moment, and Peridot could almost  _ hear _ Limone shrug before she responded. “Okay, whatever you say, Ms. Greene.”

The line went dead, and Peridot was left with a little less confidence than before.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A second encounter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> awww loooook they're falling in looooove

It was getting late when Peridot knocked on the door of the Brecciate house, and the last thing that she expected was for a thin hand to reach out as soon as it was opened and tug her inside. The lawyer squeaked faintly as Lapis pressed roughly against her lips and the door was closed behind her, leaning easily against the wood and closing her eyes as the younger woman’s hands tucked underneath the bottom of her shirt, brushing against her sides and moving upwards to the bottom of her bra. Peridot couldn’t help but moan ever so slightly as Lapis easily unclasped the undergarment, pulling away from the kiss to give the blushing lawyer a troublemaking smile.

“I’ve been waiting for you all day,” the younger woman murmured softly, only centimeters away from Peridot’s face and with half lidded eyes. The lawyer could almost feel her face getting redder with every moment that her lover was close to her. “What do you say we move back to the bedroom and have some fun?” One thin hand gently buried itself in Peridot’s messy blonde hair, and the young woman pressed a light kiss against the corner of her mouth before moving the smooches down her neck as she waited for the older woman to give her an answer.

“I’m all for that,” the lawyer breathed, her face bright pink as the other woman didn’t let up in her loving attack on the side of her neck. She was effectively pinned as Lapis bit down on the junction between her neck and shoulder, forcing an odd sound between a squeak and a moan out of her throat. The other woman then backed off of her and grabbed onto both of her wrists, pulling her away from the door and quickly up the stairs and into her sizable bedroom.

The older woman was quick in taking control then, shoving Lapis back against the bed and watching as she fell back onto the blanket with a faint squeak and a red face. She was about to climb on after her, but even in the haze of lust that was beginning to cover her thoughts she could see the sudden expression of fear on the former housewife’s face, and she froze immediately, not sure what she had done to get that sort of reaction. “Oh, god, I’m sorry, are you okay?” she asked softly, pulling herself up onto the bed - not with the intent to climb on top of Lapis, though, but rather to sit down next to her.

The dark haired beauty sat up as well, looking less scared and more embarrassed now, avoiding eye contact with Peridot. “I’m sorry, getting pushed back just reminded me of Jasper,” she admitted quietly, and in silence the lawyer reached out to gently wrap her hand around one of Lapis’. “I’m okay, though. It’s not… it’s not a big deal. I was just a little afraid for a moment.” She sniffed slightly, and gently squeezed her lover’s hand, turning her head slightly in order to give her a faint smile.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Peridot asked, feeling a little awkward. She had limited experience in making somebody feel better about trauma - that was an accurate description for the fear and memories that plagued Lapis, right? Her marriage to Jasper seemed commonplace from what the blonde had heard, as messed up as she thought the system was, she’d never spoken to anybody that was as affected as her lover was. “It… it might make you feel a little better if you let it all out. No judgement or anything. I promise.” She lifted the younger woman’s hand up to her lips, and lightly brushed a faint kiss against her knuckles.

Lapis blushed at that, and lightly rubbed her face with one hand. She let out a heavy sigh, and when she looked back to Peridot, the smile she gave her was a lot stronger and more confident. “No, I think I’ll be okay. She can’t hurt me anymore. I’ll never see her again - and I have  _ you _ now. Just… please don’t push me around like that again.” She kissed the blonde’s cheek, and then moved so that she was straddling her hips. “Do you still want to do this?”

“Do  _ I _ still want to do this?” Peridot blurted out, barely even noticing how flustered she sounded with a girl she found so attractive now in her lap. “It’s you I was worried about, Lapis. As long as you’re okay with continuing, then I’m happy to.” She leaned forward to gently kiss the younger woman’s lips, resting her hands on her sides, and she was a little startled when Lapis suddenly pushed against her shoulders and sent her falling back against the soft bed with a faint squeak.

“Then let’s do this,” Lapis murmured in a sultry tone, kissing her roughly and pinning her down, intertwining their fingers and holding her hands up over her head. The younger woman harshly bit Peridot’s lower lip, and the blonde let out an odd sound between pain and pleasure. Goddammit, she could feel herself getting wetter, and her face darkened by several shades. Skilled fingers unbuttoned the rest of the lawyer’s shirt, and soft lips began pressing down her neck and collarbones, teeth occasionally nipping at the pale skin and making Peridot whine and writhe ever so slightly. Fuck. She wanted Lapis, and she wanted her now, and she hoped that making noises and wrapping her arms around the younger woman’s middle would communicate that well enough because there was no way she could actually speak and get coherent words out of her mouth.

The former housewife made her way slowly and teasingly down Peridot’s upper body, unclasping her bra with one hand to yank it off and toss the article of clothing of to the side. The blonde’s breathing was shallow, her eyes half lidded with lust, and she let out a soft moan when one of Lapis’ hands pressed down against her sensitive breast. Her lips wrapped around the opposite nipple, her tongue flicking lightly against the sensitive mound, and Peridot became a mess of moans and whines as the younger woman toyed with one breast with her hand and lightly suckled the other.

Her nails dug into the back of Lapis’ shirt when the dark haired woman slipped two slender fingers easily into her waiting heat with her free hand. Peridot’s back arched, and Lapis pulled her mouth away from her breast in order to bury her face against the blonde’s throat, occasionally kissing or nibbling at the sensitive skin there. 

The younger woman knew exactly what she was supposed to do, and Peridot was almost vaguely impressed by how well Lapis already knew her body despite only having one other sexual encounter with her. Or, well, she would be vaguely impressed if her thoughts weren’t all but static as Lapis gently scissored and thrust her fingers inside of her, manicured nails occasionally scraping against the rough patch on her upper walls and making her babble incoherently. Peridot had not realized how much she needed this until she could feel the stress melting away, easing off of her bones with every motion of her lover’s hands and with every wave of pleasure that wracked her spine.

Her orgasm was sudden, unexpected, and the lawyer let out a loud keening noise as Lapis’ hand motions slowed, milking her through it. As she slowly came down from the high, Lapis pressed a gentle kiss against her cheek, a smug smile on her tanned face, and Peridot blushed, sticking out her tongue before she sat up straight to gently place her hands on the younger woman’s sides. She kissed her as sweetly and softly as she could, running her hand through her hair.

The lawyer was careful in pushing Lapis back into the pillows and blankets, running her hand down the younger woman’s abdomen.

* * *

 

Even though their… ‘activity’ had worn Peridot out pretty effectively when paired with her exhaustion from being overworked, and Lapis had curled up against her side - still and relaxed enough to make the lawyer think that she was fast asleep already - she just couldn’t seem to drift off into dreamland. Instead, she remained staring up at the ceiling, and even though she was doing her best to try and think about something nice, her mind just kept wandering back to what she was trying to forget.

She couldn’t stop thinking about the case, about how complex the situation had become - even more tangled than it had been when Bismuth originally hired her as her lawyer. Even with all of the research she had done into similar situations and public opinions, she just couldn’t seem to figure out a clear cut path. The quietness of her own apartment didn’t really make anything easier, given that there was little else to focus on. This affair was the only good thing that was happening in her life, and even with that, Limone Suzuki’s words kept running through her head whenever she looked over at Lapis’ peaceful and calm face.

_ Jasper doesn’t stick with a decision long. _

She wanted to think that the choice to leave one’s family behind was a very definite one that couldn’t be walked back on easily, but she knew that as long as Lapis’ divorce wasn’t official and she continued to live in this house, there wasn’t much of anything that could stop Jasper Brecciate from coming back if she really wanted to. Peridot thought about maybe offering to let Lapis and Malachite move into her apartment with her, but… it didn’t exactly have enough room for three.

“You okay?” she heard a soft, sleepy voice ask beside her, and Peridot couldn’t help but jolt ever so slightly as she was startled out of her thoughts. She looked over at Lapis, finding calm dark blue eyes watching her. She looked concerned, and the lawyer couldn’t help but feel a little bit guilty for making her worry during such a calm moment. One thin hand reached up to brush against her cheek, and the blonde sighed as she laid down a little easier and let her lover shift to hug her more effectively and rest her head on her shoulder instead of against her side.

“I’m fine,” Peridot replied, and realized silently that she wasn’t exactly lying. “Just having trouble sleeping. I can’t stop thinking about everything that’s going on. You weren’t wrong about me needing a break yesterday - but no matter how hard I try to relax, I just can’t.” She dragged one hand down the side of her face. Lapis made a soft sound to show that she was paying attention, but didn’t otherwise make any effort to talk. “There’s just too much on my plate, and the court date is too close for me to even think about taking a vacation or something.”

“Didn’t you say that it’s still months away?” Lapis asked quietly, and when Peridot looked  down at her she could see that the younger woman was watching her with eyebrows furrowed and her lips folded into a slight frown. “Peridot, you shouldn’t overwork yourself so much. It  _ can’t _ be good for your health.” She was quiet then, apparently thinking, and the lawyer remained in silence with one arm around her middle. “Maybe I should make a rule. This house is where you rest. No work is allowed from the moment you step in the front door until the moment you’re outside. You’re not allowed to stress about it.”

The lawyer snorted faintly, and nuzzled her cheek lightly. “I don’t think stress works like that,” she mused, a small smile now on her face. She had a lot of affection for this young woman, though she knew that their relationship was mostly sexual for now. She thought she was adorable. Just wonderful.

“Well, it should,” Lapis huffed, sounding stubborn, and moved her face to lightly peck Peridot’s lips. “I really think we should try to get some sleep, though.”

Peridot hummed lightly in agreement, and turned over so Lapis could spoon her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in terms of the soulmate connection this fic takes place between hath and sots!

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE COMMENT IF YOU ENJOY. i feel bad i have to beg for them but that's what it's come to


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